I read with interest Michael's multiple sightings of red-breasted
sapsuckers, and wonder whether this is mere coincidence or whether these
birds are on the move just now. I know that on the east coast, yellow-
bellied sapsuckers tend to adhere to a rather tight migration schedule,
and if you don't get out in the field during a short stretch in the
spring and a short stretch in the fall (about ten days, if I remember
correctly), you run the risk of not seeing this species for the entire
year if you don't have local breeders. Since red-breasted sapsuckers
are year-round residents here, the effect is presumably less dramatic,
but is there a correspondingly narrow and recognizable movement of this
species?

Jim McCoy
jfmccoy at earthlink.net
Redmond, WA



-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Hobbs [mailto:Hummer at isomedia.com]
Sent: Tuesday, March 20, 2001 6:05 PM
To: Tweeters (E-mail)
Subject: Marymoor Park and Lake Samm State Park reports 3/20/2001


Hi Tweets

I couldn't resist making a quick trip down to Marymoor in Redmond WA this
morning after getting the kids off to school. It was actually fairly quiet,
but there were several nice birds:

Merlin ? Quick view of a mid-sized falcon mobbed
by
crows
Virginia Rail Constant calling from far side of slough
Pileated Woodpecker First March record for Marymoor
Red-breasted Sapsucker Also a first March record
Tree Swallow Many back
Western Meadowlark 3 in east meadow

Then this afternoon, I stopped at Lake Sammamish State Park in Issaquah WA.
I
only had about 45 minutes, but saw:

Red-breasted Sapsucker A pair
Rufous Hummingbird Quick look at a male
Violet-green Swallow At least 2

In all, a nice day.

== Michael Hobbs
== Kirkland WA
== Hummer at isomedia.com
== http://www.scn.org/fomp/birding.htm